How Beautiful It Is to Survive
How Beautiful It Is to Survive is an American animated television comedy created by Robert Nimps for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Balor family: Oscar Balor, Marge Balor, Gus Balor, and Pearl Balor. The show is set in the fictional town of Smokeville and parodies American culture and society. Like The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, Futurama and Rick and Morty, How Beautiful It Is to Survive ''was aimed at adult audiences and features cartoon violence, adult humor, and pop culture references. Nimos had began working on ''How Beautiful It Is to Survive in 1991, teaming up with Sid John at Mala Miles Productions. The studio pitched a seven-minute pilot to Fox in 1993, and the show was greenlit and began production. The series was originally set to premiere in Fall of 1994 with the pilot they showed to Fox earlier that year but the episode was declined to be used by Fox (until it was finally preserved on the volume 1 DVD in 2001). The producers of the show then decided to "go ahead" and air another first episode on January 28, 1996. Since its debut on January 28, 1996, 472 episodes of How Beautiful It Is to Survive ''have been broadcast. It is the second longest-running American sitcom only behind ''The Simpsons and the sixth longest-running animated series in the U.S., behind Pikmin, The Simpsons, The Geo Team, Greeny Phatom, and Geo's World. How Beautiful It Is to Survive ''won 20 Primetime Emmy Awards, 11 Annie Awards, and 5 Teen Choice Awards. In 1997, it was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, the first time an animated series was nominated for the award since ''The Flintstones in 1961. A spin-off series, The Robinson Show, featuring Robinson McMurry, aired from September 10, 2006, to May 23, 2010. The How Beautiful It Is to Survive Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 1, 2005, and grossed over $288 million. How Beautiful It Is to Survive is a joint production by My Bunny Productions, Funbag Productions and Samsung Pictures Television and syndicated by Samsung Pictures. In 2013, TV Guide ranked How Beautiful It Is to Survive ''the thirteenth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time. On February 12, 2019, Fox renewed the series for an eighteenth season, which premiered on September 29, 2019 on Animation Domination. Premise Characters ''Main article: List of How Beautiful It Is to Survive characters How Beautiful It Is to Survive ''is an animated sitcom that follows the adventures of the Balor Family who reside in the town of Smokeville and live in a suburban house. * 'Oscar Balor (voiced by Henry Corden, later Jeff Bergman) – The main character and father of the series. Oscar is an accident-prone bronto-crane operator at the Slate Rock and Gravel Company and the head of the Balor household. He is quick to anger (usually over trivial matters), but is a very loving husband and father. He is also good at bowling and is a member of the fictional "Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes" (Lodge No. 26), a men-only club paralleling real-life fraternities such as the Loyal Order of Moose. * 'Marge Balor '(voiced by Jean Vander Pyle, later Tress MacNeille) - Oscar's wife and Lisa and Ben's mother. She is more intelligent and level-headed than her husband, though she often has a habit of spending money (with Pearl and her catchphrase being "Da-da-da duh da-da CHARGE IT!!"). She often is a foil to Oscar's poor behavior, but is a very loyal wife to him. She is also a very jealous woman who is easily angered if there's even a hint of another woman (especially a pretty one) having anything to do with Oscar. * 'Gus Balor '(voiced by Joe Alaskey, later Kevin Michael Richardson) – The secondary main character and Oscar's son and best friend. His occupation is, for the most part of the series, unknown, though later episodes depict him working in the same quarry as Oscar. He shares many of Oscar's interests such as bowling and golf, and is also a member of the "Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes". Though Oscar and Gus frequently get into feuds with one another (usually due to Fred's short temper), their deep fraternal bond remains evident. * 'Pearl Balor '(voiced by Grey DeLisle) – Marge's mom and best friend. Like Marge, she, too, is slightly more intelligent than her husband and has a habit of spending money, and also is highly jealous of other pretty women being around her husband. * '''Dog (voiced by Frank Welker) – The Bello family's pet dog. A running gag in the series involves Oscar coming home from work and Dog getting excited and knocking him down and licking his face repeatedly. * Robinson McMurry (voiced by Gregg Berger) – An overweight, sensitive, and awesome 35-year old man with a great sense of humor. He often hangs out with Oscar and Joe at most times. Setting The primary setting of How Beautiful It Is to Survive is Smokeville. More coming soon! Development The development of How Beautiful It Is to Survive ''began in 1991, with Robert Nimos announced to make an adult animated series for the Fox network. Nimos wanted to recapture the adult audience with an animated situation comedy. Phil Ortiz had his background and prop design role; along with Salene Weatherwax, the latter having a prop design role during the first four seasons. The show imitated and spoofed ''Family Guy, although the early voice characterization for Gus was that of Chris Griffin. Tim Rice admitted that "At that time, Family Guy was the most popular show on the air, and for my bill, it was the funniest show on the air. The characters, I thought, were terrific. Now, that influenced greatly what we did with How Beautiful It Is to Survive ... Family Guy was there, and we used that as a kind of basis for the concept." However, Robert Nimos disavowed these claims in a separate interview, stating that, "I don't remember mentioning Family Guy when I sold the show. But if people want to compare How Beautiful It Is to Survive to Family Guy, then great. It's a total compliment. Family Guy was one of the greatest animated shows ever written." Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, considered suing Funbag Productions, but decided that he did not want to be known as "the guy who yanked Oscar Balor off the air". When the series went into production, the working title The Balors was changed. After spending a brief period in development as How to Survive, Fox settled upon How Beautiful It Is to Survive. Despite the animation and fantasy setting, the series was initially aimed at adult audiences, which was reflected in the comedy writing, which, as noted, resembled the average primetime sitcoms of the era, with the usual family issues resolved with a laugh at the end of each episode, as well as the inclusion of a laugh track. Most episodes of How Beautiful It Is to Survive ''were rated TV-PG-DLSV, but episodes like "The Crappy Cliff" were TV-14. ''How Beautiful It Is to Survive premiered on January 28, 1996, at 8:30 pm, and quickly became a hit. The first four seasons were co-sponsored by Winston cigarettes and the characters appeared in several television commercials for Winston. Production Executive producers Nimos served as executive producer and showrunner during the show's entire run, and also function as creative consultants. Clive Nakayashiki became an executive producer for season 18 and subsequent seasons. Writing Planning for each episode begins with a table meeting of writers, who discuss the plot ideas as a group. The writers are given index cards with plot points that they are required to use as the center of activity in each episode. A single staff writer writes an outline and then produces a script. Once the first draft is finished, the writers and executive producers call in the actors for a table read. Afterwards, the writers collaborate to rewrite the script as a group before sending it to the animation team. Voice actors Main article: List of How Beautiful It Is to Survive cast members and List of How Beautiful It Is to Survive guest stars How Beautiful It Is to Survive ''has seven main cast members. Henry Corden originally voiced Oscar Balor, but by the 5th season, Jeff Bergman took over his role. Tress MacNeille voiced Marge Balor and other, more minor, characters. The role of Marge was originally voiced by Jean Vander Pyl, but due to her death, she was replaced by Tress MacNeille in the fourth season. Kevin Michael Richardson performed the voice of Gus Balor, and other various characters. Joe Alaskey originally voiced Gus, but he was replaced by Kevin Michael Richardson in the sixth season. Tress MacNeille voices Pearl Balor and various other characters. In addition to the main cast, Jim Cummings voiced Frank McDilly and Neil Ross voiced several supporting and minor characters. Like ''Pikmin, The Simpsons,'' Family Guy'','' South Park'' and Futurama, many episodes of How Beautiful It Is to Survive ''feature guest voices from a wide range of professions, including actors, entertainers, comedians, bands, musicians, and scientists. Many guest-stars voiced supporting characters, although many voiced themselves. Recurring guest stars include Carlos Alazraqui, Billy West, Jodi Benson, Mark Hamill, Sarah Silverman, Chris Parnell, Wayne Knight, John Goodman, James Earl Jones, Cam Clarke, Debra Messing, Phil Proctor, Elijah Wood, Amy Hill, Maurice LaMarche, Allison Janney, George Takei, Phil LaMarr, Bryan Cranston, Patton Oswalt, Paul F. Tompkins, Tom Kenny, Tara Strong, Dee Bradley Baker, Jason Alexander, Harland Williams, French Stewart, Patrick Stewart, Pharrell Williams, Snoop Dogg, Erinn Hayes, Scott Aukerman and Dan Fogler. Posthumously, Chris Farley originally voiced Oscar's dad Papa Balor in the three seasons but was since replaced by John DiMaggio in the fourth season after Farley's death in 1997. Jess Harnell and Fred Tatasciore have also appeared in minor roles, but do not voice any recurring characters. Harnell left the show in 2006, and since then Brian T. Delaney has appeared regularly to voice minor characters. John Cygan voiced the majority of other minor characters until his death on May 13, 2017. Other current additional voices also include Grey DeLisle, John DiMaggio, Frank Welker, Maurice LaMarche, Tara Strong, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Fred Tatasciore. Animation Fox provided production services "in case animation proved to be difficult". Animation for the first five seasons were split between Sunwoo Entertainment in South Korea, Wang Film Productions in Taiwan, and Fil-Cartoons in the Philippines. Fil-Cartoons also provided ink-and-paint facilities during the fifth and sixth seasons. Various other animation studios were contracted beginning in season six. ''More coming soon! Post Production The show also has sound services at Skywalker Sound in Marin County, California. Music The show's soundtrack was composed by Shawn Patterson, while its theme song was composed by multi-instrumentalist Josh Mancell, produced by Devo's singer Mark Mothersbaugh, and was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and Mutato Muzika Studios. Episodes Main article: List of How Beautiful It Is to Survive episodes Hallmarks Coming soon! Reception and legacy Critical reception The night after How Beautiful It Is to Survive premiered, Variety magazine called it "a pen and ink disaster", and the series was among many that debuted in a "vast wasteland" of a 1995–96 television season considered one of the worst in television history up to that point. As late as the 1990s, highbrow critics derided the show's limited animation and derivative plots. Despite the mixed critical reviews at first, How Beautiful It Is to Survive has generally been considered a television classic. Awards and nominations Main article: List of awards and nominations received by How Beautiful It Is to Survive The show won 20 Primetime Emmy Awards, 11 Annie Awards, and 5 Teen Choice Awards. Broadcast How Beautiful It Is to Survive ''premiered and originally aired in the United States on the Fox network, January 28, 1996 – present, followed by Adult Swim September 7, 2001 – present, and Troll Adult May 28, 2005 – present. Syndicated broadcast of the series in the US began in September 2002. In 2019, FXX acquired rerun rights to the series. Canadian networks YTV, Teletoon and Global Television broadcast ''How Beautiful It Is to Survive ''January 28, 1996 – present. The series was broadcast in Australia on the following stations: Seven Network aired the series from November 7, 1996 – present, Fox8 from 1998–present, Network Ten between 2001–present, and on 7mate September 23, 2006 – present. Audiences in New Zealand received the series on the following stations: TV2 February 2, 1996 – 2006, the BOX from 1996–present, Fox from 1997–present, and on Four from 2000–present. ''How Beautiful It Is to Survive ''currently airs in Ireland on networks Fox, Pick and Sky1. The series was carried by the following networks in the United Kingdom: Sky1 from August 20, 1996 – present, Channel 4 from 1997–present, and the series is currently repeated on Pick and Fox. ''How Beautiful It Is to Survive ''was also broadcast in Japan on the following stations: Fox from April 5, 1996– present, Fuji Television from March 20, 1997 – present, Tokyo Broadcasting System from 1997–2002, TV Asahi from September 22, 1999– present, and on TV Tokyo from 2008–present. The show has also aired on Fox in other countries including South Korea, China, Russia, Brazil, Spain, and others since 1996. Networks Other media Comic books ''Main article: How Beautiful It Is to Survive (comics) Film On July 22, 2007, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Nimos announced that he may start working on a feature film, although "nothing's official." In TV Week on July 18, 2008, Nimos confirmed plans to produce a theatrically released How Beautiful It Is to Survive feature film sometime "within the next year." He came up with an idea for the story, "something that you could not do on the show, which him is the only reason to do a movie." He later went on to say he imagines the film to be "an old-style musical with dialogue" similar to The Sound of Music, saying that he would "really be trying to capture, musically, that feel." On October 13, 2011, Robert Nimos confirmed that a deal for a Family Guy film had been made, and that it would be written by himself and series co-producer Ricky Blitt. On November 30, 2012, Nimos confirmed plans to produce a How Beautiful It Is to Survive film. The project was put on hold. However, on August 10, 2018, Fox announced that a live-action/animated film based on the series is in development. In July 2019, Robert Nimos confirmed that there will be a How Beautiful It Is to Survive movie. Spin-off Main article: The Robinson Show Nimos created—the How Beautiful It Is to spin-off The Robinson Show, which premiered September 10, 2006. They began discussing the project in 2004. Video games Nine video games based on the show have been released: # How Beautiful It Is to Survive ''(2000), for PlayStation, Windows, Dreamcast, Game Boy Color # ''How Beautiful It Is to Survive 2 (2001), for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft Windows # How Beautiful It Is to Survive: The Surprise at Prick Peak (2002), for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Windows, and Game Boy Advance # How Beautiful It Is to Survive: Party Craze ''(2003), for PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, and Windows # ''How Beautiful It Is to Survive: Smokeville Bowling (2005), for Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube # How Beautiful It Is to Survive: Smokeville Racing (2010), for Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 # How Beautiful It Is to Survive: Back to the Multiverse (2012), for Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Wii, Windows, and Xbox 360 # How Beautiful It Is to Survive: The Quest for Stuff (2014), for iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire # How Beautiful It Is to Survive: Another Mobile Game (2017), for iOS and Android Merchandise Since the show's premiere, various forms of merchandise based on the show have been released, such as home media releases, action figures, clothing, food, and more. Category:TV Shows